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Rensselaer student Tyler Hinman, 20, won the American Crossword Puzzle Tournament this spring, making him the youngest champion in the 28-year history of the competition. The tournament is the nation’s oldest and largest crossword competition. It was founded in 1978 and is directed by New York Times crossword editor Will Shortz.

Hinman, a third-year information technology major, has been solving crossword puzzles since ninth grade. And he’s been creating them nearly as long. Hinman was the youngest person ever to publish a puzzle in The New York Times, at age 15.

Hinman created this puzzle  “He Shoots, He Scores”  for Rensselaer magazine. “The theme is one of my favorite RPI subjects: the grand game of hockey,” Hinman says. “I also throw solvers a curveball (forgive the baseball reference in discussing a hockey puzzle), as you’ll see.”